Let's work together on our projects for afghans for Afghans.
It's a knit-along; it's a crochet-along!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

red wool, warm hands

On January 1st, I cast on for a pair of mittens with the red wool left over from the yoke sweater I had knitted for the ongoing youth drive. Since the yarn was only dk weight, I coupled it with some ancient mohair from my stash in a very close shade of red.

Elizabeth D, your pattern could just as well be tattooed on my brain by now! I enjoyed my experiment in stranding two different yarns so much that I immediately cast on for more mittens in that same red wool, this time stranded with an orange fingering-weight wool for a tweedy effect.

In both cases the addition of the new yarn made the wool feel softer as well as warmer. I have to keep this stranding trick in mind as it is perfect for those orphan skeins of lightweight yarn. One skein of fingering weight wool (this was Brown Sheep Naturespun) was more than enough for two pairs.

2 comments:

Very nice and bright! I often strand yarns together to get something thicker, it's a great trick. I love the idea of using mohair with wool and may have to see if I have any in my stash the next time I need to strand.

THE BASICS

afghans for Afghans is a people-to-people project that knits and crochets wool garments as a practical gesture of friendship and respect for the people of Afghanistan. In partnership with the San Francisco office of the American Friends Service Committee, our project started in late 2001 in response to the war that unfolded after 9/11. This follows a long-time tradition of knitting for others at times of war and crisis. Afghan families still need to know that we care. Join us here for camaraderie, inspiration, and mutual support with projects.

Want to join the discussion?

Send an email to sfmammamia at g mail dot com for permission to post. If you don't get a note back, check your spam folder. The more, the merrier!

Long-time community knitter Elizabeth Durand is our moderator. Be sure to introduce yourself!